Beneath the Pure Sky
by Sunlight Memory
Summary: AU. They used too much energy, not caring about what it would do to the planet. Years ago, a group of scientists got together with a last hope of saving the world. However, before the experiment was finished, they were interrupted. Mainly Cloti, Zerith
1. Prologue: Manor Children

**This idea has been bothering me for a while, so I guess I will try it out^^ The story is AU, so if you don't like, don't read.**

**For any grammar-mistake I'm sure I have made somewhere, I apologize. It is by no means done by will. **

**Disclaimer: Own nothing but the plot. **

**Prologue**

**Manor Children**

She would watch him out of the corner of her eye, curious on why the other kids didn't allow him to play with them. Was it because of his glowing, blue eyes? No, she didn't believe that to be the reason. They weren't scary, only charming and cute. Like something sacred.

The little girl asked one of her friends once, why they didn't let him play with them.

"He's dangerous, Teef. From there," her friend replied, pointing at the manor on the outskirt of the small village. The huge building was hardly visible from the Kindergarten where the kids spent their days, raising like a big, bad shadow toward everyone who dared get too close. Strange stories ran around inside the village, about how children were used as experiments, about how ShinRa moved all their enemies up there to be removed from the world, and even worse stories about all the evil things ShinRa did.

Nibelheim was a small Reactor Village in the mountains, hardly anything to the world surrounding it at all. Peaceful and quiet, that was words used to describe it among the citizens. Yet, because of the manor, it had also become ShinRa's private playground.

The village's only kindergarten laid near the entrance to Mt. Nibel, and gave the adults a place to put their children when they had to work.

Tifa watched the little boy from a safe distance, still wondering why he would be so dangerous just because he came from the manor.

Along with his glowing eyes, the boy had really spiky, blond hair – apparently the word gravity had no meaning to it –, really pale skin, and was a lot shorter than most of the other boys at his age. He would sit quietly in a corner, watching the other kids play soccer or anything else, with his arms around his knees and a faraway look in his eyes. Sometimes, her friends would walk closer to him, saying mean things all the way. She didn't like it when they did that; if they wouldn't allow him to play with them, they should just leave him alone, not bother him by being mean.

Usually, the boy's only – apparently – friend would show up, chasing them away with being tall and rude. Then, he would sit down and put a protective hand on top of the blond spikes, pushing them down.

This other boy was some years older, he too with glowing eyes, and spikes – though his was black, not blond. Unlike his friend, he wasn't picked on by her friends, even if he too came from the manor. The little girl's guess was that they didn't dare since he was older and taller.

Like the blond one, he too wasn't allowed to play with them, but he didn't seem to be suffering so much from it as his friend.

The days passed just like usual, not allowing anything special to happen. Tifa would be watching the two boys in the corner every day, a part of her heart telling her to invite them to play with them, yet she didn't do it because she was afraid of what her friends would say.

The little girl stood underneath some of the trees in the kindergartens garden, watching the two boys' usual spot. No one was there today, something that in itself was strange. The other kids were playing on the other side of the building, and Tifa didn't really feel like being with them at the moment.

A movement in the corner of her eye got the girl to turn around. There, almost hidden behind the trees, could she see the black-haired boy, already far on his way by climbing toward the top of a huge tree. The girl didn't waste a minute, but walked closer by, already decided that she would speak with him, ask where the blond boy had gone.

"Hi!" she said loudly as she got beneath the tree, smiling softly up at the boy. His eyes watched her curious for a moment, wondering why she didn't play with her friends.

"Hey," he finally answered, not letting his guard down even if she smiled.

"I'm Tifa Lockhart," the little girl said proudly, pointing her finger at her chest.

"Zack."

"Where's your friend?" she asked friendly, a bit _proud_ that she could ask him about something like that. The boy stared at her, before climbing toward her, jumping down from the last branch. Once he stood in front of her, the girl could really tell that he was tall, much taller than her.

"Cloud's sick," he answered, and the girl caught a glimpse of worry in his eyes, along with a look that told her he had seen too much for a boy his age. After all, he couldn't be more than five, soon six. Soon school-ready.

_Cloud_. That had to be name of the blond boy. She was glad she knew it; now he wouldn't be just another face in the crowd.

Somewhere in the distance, they could hear the bell calling the children in to lunch. Tifa turned around and walked toward the building, knowing that Zack followed somewhere behind her. She knew she wanted to get to know them better, wanted to learn _why_ it didn't seem like anyone wanted them in town. Learn why the manor was a forbidden place.

However, that was the only time she got to talk to either of the boys, the last time she got to see them. The day after, they were both gone from the kindergarten, gone from the small village of Nibelheim. Disappeared like a cloud in the wind.

*~^:^~*

**A/N: Hope you liked it^^ Please let me know if you want me to continue this story! :)**


	2. Chapter 1: A Dying World

**To all who reviewed the last chapter (I will leave a note to you all here, since I otherwise would just repeat myself if I sent one to each);**** Thank you so much for all your words! You guys are truly amazing^^ And seriously; no grammar-mistakes last time? O.O Anyway, I'm really glad you took the time to read it – and leave such kind words – and I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. **

**I'm really sorry if any of the characters are OOC. **

**Disclaimer; Own the plot, nothing else. **

**Chapter 1**

**A Dying World**

Pale and weak sunlight broke free from the grey clouds covering most of the sky, tried its best to find a way into humans' lives, to make sure they didn't lose sight of it. Once, it had been a normal part of the world, something you knew always would be there, shining down on the planet somewhere, yet now, you had to be lucky to see it, more less feel it warm your skin.

The whole world had become like the sunlight; cold, pale and weak. The mighty trees that once made up most of the many forests, had long lost their bright, green colour, leaving them dull and of hardly any help in cleaning the poisonous air coming from the Mako-reactors.

It could all be traced back to ShinRa, back to the time when they had first started using the planet's life as an energy source. Some people lived fairly well because of the slowly killing of the place they called home, others had realized the danger and the future outcome of it all if things continued the way they did. All over the world had people who were against ShinRa and their use of power, gathered. They did what they believed to be right in fighting against them, all from joining into huge groups who fought with all their hearts, to just refuse using Mako-energy.

Yet, the sunlight was hardly there at all, and the world was far from perfect.

The light hit a circle-shaped window, made its way into the small room. It hit a pillow lying on a bed right underneath the window, made blond spikes shine in the pale sunlight. Glowing, light-blue eyes stared blankly out of the window, trying to calm down a protesting stomach by focusing on something else. The owner of the eyes was small of size for a sixteen-year-old male, wouldn't even reach the end of the bed if he straightened out the legs he had pulled up to his chest.

The young teen had turned toward the window after finding out that nothing else stopped the room from spinning. Watching the roof only made it worse, seeing it jump up and down toward him. The door into the small room didn't work either, not with the way it opened and closed, swinging from side to side. He couldn't get up and make sure it stayed shut, either. Not if there by any change was someone who actually liked the horrible, brown-grey colour of the carpet beneath the two beds. Besides, it wouldn't be nice to do such a thing to the little breakfast his friend had been able to get into him some hours earlier.

"Spiky!" the young boy rolled over to the other side, turning the blank look toward the door.

For once it didn't swing from side to side.

Now, it was pushed away as a black-haired teen came into the room, glowing, purple-coloured eyes searching over everything for a moment, before locking themselves on his friend.

"Are you going to spend the entire day up here, Cloud?" the teen asked, walking over to the bed were the blond camped. The younger glared at him. The black-haired boy knew exactly what his plans for the day were. Unfortunately, those were obviously not _his_ plans.

"Come on; Vince's waiting for us to get ready. We're soon at Junon," the older teen grabbed a hold on his friends arm and dragged him off the bed, grinning as the blond stumbled after him out of the room.

The corridor outside the small bedroom moved in all sort of directions, didn't care much about the two boys who made their way through it. For Cloud, it was pretty much just a bunch of colours thrown together. He couldn't have been happier about the fact that they soon reached the shore again.

Soon, cold air filled with a trace of salt made its way into his nose, told him they had gone outside.

The young blond tried to remove the mixed up colours from his view, only for a burning feeling to come dancing up from his stomach. The warning sign came when it reached his throat, leaving the boy to bolt away from his friend and toward the boat's railing.

*~^:^~*

_Loud steps could be heard through the wooden floor, making small pieces of dust fall down over the secret basement beneath the Manor. Crimson eyes watched the stairs disappear behind as he was dragged deeper into the basement, further away from what he knew to be the only escape-route. A red band held long, black hair away from his face, but still some bangs hung down, sometimes covering his eyes. He wasn't that old, barely a teen at thirteen. _

_As the young boy ran, he passed several doors, leading into rooms he didn't even want to figure out what hid. All that mattered at the moment anyway, was to get as far away from the stairs as possible. _

_The man in front of him, the one dragging him along, didn't seem to slow down, his eyes fixed on something in the distance. The man wasn't just any man, but his father, the reason he was at the manor at all. Grimoire Valentine, a famous scientist who had disappeared from the world of the living thirteen years ago, after the birth of his son and the death of his wife. As a newborn baby, he had been taken to the manor, to live there as his father worked on a new project they very carefully protected from the world._

_The village-people knew something was going on inside the manor, yet they had been given a lie. The people believed it all to be the work of ShinRa; that the Company worked on a huge and important project, and all other types of stories. They couldn't know those who lived and worked there was against ShinRa, and that the project could become the end of the Company._

_Suddenly, his father stopped running, leaving the boy to almost crash into his back. First then did he notice they had reached a door in the wall. _

_Grimoire pulled his son in front of him, twisted a key around in the door, and pushed the boy inside once he got it open. It wasn't a hard and unfriendly push, more like one done for his own safety. _

"_Grimoire!" a female voice cried out once the door close behind them. The young teen blinked a couple of times as he looked around in the room, trying to figure out who had spoken. It sounded familiar, but without a face he couldn't really place it._

"_Don't worry, Lucrecia, the others are holding them off," his father answered, and the boy was finally able to see the woman speaking. She was dressed in the typical white coat, with a blue top underneath along with a dark skirt. A yellow scarf held long, brown hair up in a ponytail, leaving only parts of her hair to fall down over her face. Soft, brown eyes smiled down to him, told the boy not to worry. _

_He had seen and talked to her many times before, the leader of the project, the only female inside the building. One of the few female scientists in the world._

_He knew that much, even if he was only thirteen. _

_The young boy turned his head around to catch a better look at the room they stood in. An operation-table stood in the middle of the room, explaining the purpose better than any words. Shelves covered the walls, some filled with books, some with instruments needed for medication and __experimentation, along with four huge test-tubes. _

_Three other teens stood behind the woman, all with a look of seriousness covering their eyes. Pretty much like himself at the moment, should he take a guess. The boy knew them all; they had after all grown up together in the manor, had played and made a disaster out of the house far too many times for the adults to enjoy. Yet, the sight of the three got the young boy to wonder. Weren't something missing? Or rather, some_one_?_

_The sound of thick books hitting the floor brought all six pair of eyes toward one of the shelves furthest away from them, and answered the young boy's question. A black-haired, small boy twisted around, grinning sheepish to them as his left hand quickly moved toward his back, apparently joining up with his right, since it was out of sight as well. From behind his back, they could see blond spikes sticking up. _

_The young boy let out a relieved sigh; at least he now knew where the missing two where. His father and Miss Lucrecia's project would be a failure if those unknown men had gotten their hands on the experiment. _

_Besides, he had watched them both too many times to not worry when they weren't exactly where they were supposed to be. _

"_Sorry," the black-haired six-year-old said, giving Lucrecia the innocent-puppy-dog-look he was famous for among the scientists and the other children. _

"_Zack," one of the other teens warned, giving him a strict, glowing, dark-blue-eyed look. _

"_Can't keep your puppy under control, Angeal?" the red-haired one out of the three grinned, grey-blue, glowing eyes focused on his friend. The young teen watched from the redhead to the black-haired teen as they stared at each other, before turning his head toward the last one of them. Green cat-like eyes told him that the other boy was a bit annoyed with his friends; annoyed that they could act like that at a time like this. _

'_Puppy' had become the nickname of the young, black-haired boy over the years. Zack didn't listen to any of the other teens beside Angeal, as the older one had trained him since he was four in the use of swords – not big once, thank the Gods for that, only those he was capable to hold and swing – and hand-to-hand combat. Because of this, Angeal knew him better than any of the other teens, and had started to call him a puppy ever since he learned that the boy had the attention-span and was restless like one. From those fateful days, the nickname had been stuck with him among them all. _

"_It's okay, Zack," Lucrecia said, her voice motherly and caring, as she walked over and knelt in front of the two, "but what were you doing over there?" _

"_I was trying to find a book for Cloud," he said, gazing over his shoulder to the little blond he carried on his back. The youngest of them, only four. His hands clung weakly to Zack's shoulders, hardly visible. They couldn't see his face, only the small hands and his trademark hair. Yet, everyone of them knew it would be even paler than usual, with a small, pinkish glow arriving from his cheeks._

_Lucrecia picked up some of the books before she rose from the floor. Then, a sound ringing through the room got her to stop dead in her tracks. _

_The young teen's eyes grew as the woman in front of him froze. _

"_Grimoire! They found the basement!" she cried out as she twisted around to face them all. His father let out a sentence filled with words absolutely not meant for the ears of children, and moved past him, straight toward one of the shelves on the opposite side of the room. He pushed it away, revealing a secret passage._

_Now it finally made sense why they had gone to this room. _

"_Children, go through!" the brown-haired woman ordered, pushing Zack and Cloud toward the passage. Angeal and his friends followed them shortly, stopping right inside the secret escape-route to wait for direction._

"_Vincent, you too," his father called out, and the young teen moved after them. As he walked past the man, he felt a hand stop him. Vincent did as ordered, tipped his head up and stared into the face of his father. He showed something hard wrapped up in red clothing into his hands, before pushing the boy into the passage. _

"_Always have it with you," he told his son, then disappearing out of sight in order to push the shelf back in front of the secret way. _

"_Once you get outside, separate. It is not safe if you stay together," the female scientist told them, her voice filled with concern for the six boys. Five pair of glowing eyes – Zack had pushed Cloud higher up so that he could see over his shoulder – and one set of crimson watched her as she disappeared into the darkness. _

_Vincent knew he wouldn't get to speak with the two adults ever again; knew they had sacrificed themselves so the six children could get out safely. Yet, as the little group turned to walk down the passage, to leave their home behind, he couldn't quite shake off the feeling that the sacrifice might not have been worth it. _

*~^:^~*

Vincent Valentine watched as the city of metal rose in front of his eyes. A huge gun pointed straight at them, a trademark you couldn't miss.

The entire city had been build into a small mountain, covering different levels where people lived. A ShinRa-city, one of the few places in the world which still connected the two continents together by boat. Not that the passenger-boats went into the city; they reached shore a little to the right, near what had once been the original city of Junon.

"It's a good thing you reached the railing in time, Spiky."

Two teens came toward him from the left side, both dressed in civil-clothes. The man wasn't shocked to see that the older one of them had a secure arm placed around the younger's shoulders. Zack knew very well how Cloud was with moving vessels.

Both boys stopped, stared wide-eyed at the building slowly rising in front of them. No wonder, as they had never seen it before. Junon would make anyone new to the sight stare.

The pale sunlight shined down on the city, bathed it in weak and cold light.

The poisonous wind would soon fall.

*~^:^~*

**A/N: I hope you liked it^^ And again, I'm really sorry if any of the characters are OOC. **

**If you have any questions or anything else, just ask^^ And I hope I didn't disappoint!**


	3. Chapter 2: Midgar

**First of all, I would like to give a huge thank you to those how reviewed/alerted/favourite the last chapter^^ I really appreciate it =) **

**I'm sorry it took a while for this chapter to be finished, but a mix between school, life and Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep sort of got in the way. **

**I made a promise that I would update it today, so here you have it ^_^**

**Hope you enjoy the chapter and don't find the characters too OOC. **

**Disclaimer: Only the plot belongs to me, nothing more. **

**Chapter 2**

**Midgar **

Redbrowish eyes stared up at the sky above, trying their best to break through thick layers of grey clouds. Yet, no matter how hard the stare grew, the eyes never reached their goal. The blue colour they were so familiar with, the sight they used to know so well, was long gone. Faded behind the soft pillows of smoke and ash.

The eyes fell to the dusty ground beneath black shoes, a hint of sadness flashing over them before reality once more hit in. It didn't help to think about the beautiful blue sky people once had loved; thoughts alone wouldn't return it back to their hearts. Only action, and that would probably hurt them even more.

Long, black hair fell over a feminine face, hiding the watering eyes from view. White teeth bit down in pinkish lips.

She refused to cry for a world who didn't even realize just what it had lost.

"Tifa," the sudden sound of her name gained the girl's attention, and sad redbrownish eyes met soft brown ones. A small hand made its way into her left one; keeping it from trembling of anger. Tifa smiled down to the little girl beside her, finally being able to remove the sadness from her eyes. She bent down to the girl's level, her right hand straighten the pink ribbon the girl used to keep her long, brown hair away from her eyes.

"Let's go home, Marlene. We have bought what we needed," she said softly, still smiling to the young girl. Marlene gave her a sweet smile, before dragging the older girl with her down the crowded streets. She knew her way home, no matter how far away they walked.

It wasn't often the two of them went to the upper plate, away from the slums. Only when Tifa finally decided that the kid needed a bit more fresh air than their usual one, not that the upper plate was so different from the slums when it came to clean air anyway. The huge makoreactors surrounding Midgar made sure of that, pumping their poisonous gas into the city.

Soon enough, the duo arrived at the secret passage between the upper plate and the slums, slipping out of sight for everyone who might have kept a suspicious eye on them earlier. Trust was a lost factor, just as the blue sky and clean air.

Marlene was still in control, pulling the older girl with her as she walked, steadfast toward her destination.

If the houses above had been in a bad condition, it was nothing against those below. Instead of regular houses and blocks, most people here lived in shelters. Of course, there were some exceptions from this way of life; some were lucky enough to have a small house with a real roof and four walls.

Tifa just happened to be one of the exceptions; she owned a bar. A real one with many regular costumers. It had cost a lot; she had spent most of the money her father had felt her on it. But it had been worth it, since it gave her a place to call home and something to do for living.

With a fake smile, she followed after the little girl, hoping the world still hadn't fallen too far from its original path.

*~^:^~*

Heavy footsteps on soft sand were the only thing that could be heard through the abandoned wasteland. Usually, people left this part of the world to itself, stayed clear away from it and used other roads to get to the different cities on each side. Dangerous monsters could be found deep inside, making up one of the reasons why humans feared it.

The pale sun was hidden behind dark clouds, lost and frightened. It missed those times when it could send ray of lights into people's hearts, keeping them on the right track and out of trouble. Days like that were long gone, disappeared in the ever growing history of man. Yet it still shined, hoping deep down that its beams of sunlight could lift miserable humans out of their dark holes.

The footsteps stopped, all traces disappearing as a small wind blew past, leaving no memory of their passing.

"That was strange. . ." Zack stared around, trying to find one sight which could point out where they were. Glowing eyes moved down to an old, rusty compass he had bought before they left Junon. To begin with, they had walked eastward of the needle, toward the middle of Junon Area. Once they reached a particularly spot near the beginning of a mountain, the little group had turned what they believed to be south, having the compass pointing in the opposite direction. However, after a while the needle said they were walking north, and the group had to change directions for the first time. Since that very moment, the old compass had said different things each time he looked at it.

Footsteps told the teen that his companions were closing in on him from behind, expecting a change of path because of his sudden stop. This was the third time he had quit walking during the last hour, changing road completely.

"What is it?" the black-haired teen almost jumped into the air as the voice of his best friend reached his ears. He twisted around, hiding the broken compass behind his back. No need for them to know that it had pointed backward again.

"Nothing," the boy answered, too quickly according to the stare filled with disbelief from Vincent.

"We are lost again, aren't we?"

Zack shook his head, a small grin staring to appear on his lips.

"Not lost, you see. . . Just not sure _where _we are," he said, laughing nervously. The blond teen raised an eyebrow, before shaking his head.

"We _are_ lost."

"No, no, Spiky! I'm sure we can see Fort Condor from the hill over there!" to prove his point, the black-haired teen started to run toward a nearby hill, waving for his two friends to follow.

However, once he got closer, the boy started to realize that it was no hill at all. He stopped at the top of what appeared to be a cliff, taken aback by the sight meeting his eyes. A sinking feeling in his stomach told the boy they had been walking in the complete opposite direction of what they were supposed to.

*~^:^~*

Cloud was quick to follow his best friend as he started to run, leaving Vincent to catch up with the two teens. The hill wasn't so far away, and in a couple of seconds they were both right behind the black-haired boy.

Something was _wrong_ with the entire area. It was like a part of him told the blond that they weren't supposed to be here at all, more less walking up the lonely hill. The clouds covering the sky above were too coloured for a safe place.

None the less could he not help but wonder what had made his friend stop so bluntly, as he himself was still some steps away from seeing over the top. However, what his glowing eyes saw once he came up on the right side of his best friend, explained everything. What they had believed to be a hill was in fact a cliff which risen something around twenty metres from the ground below, with a huge, dark city resting on plates, releasing gigantic clouds of green smoke from several mako-reactors. In a wasteland without any villages, a city like that was meant to attract people's gaze.

"Zack?" Vincent sounded calm, like always, wouldn't let anything remove the constant tranquillity in his voice.

"Yeah?" his best friend, on the other hand, appeared more shocked.

"You _do_ realize this isn't Fort Condor, right?" a nod, nothing more.

"And remember that I said there would be small traces of once-green fields around the right place?" another nod.

"Then I wonder how well you followed that compass you spend almost all our money on?"

"It's broken."

Silence filled the smoke filled air around them, waiting for the right moment to drown all three.

The black-haired man shook his head before he tried to find a way toward the city with his eyes. Midgar wasn't a safe place for the three, yet they would need to stay there for the night and then move on tomorrow.

No matter how dangerous the floating city might be, the wasteland at night was worse.

*~^:^~*

**A/N: I hope the chapter didn't disappoint too much and that it doesn't hold too much writing mistakes. **

**Anyway, hope it was worth those minutes of your life it took to read it^^**


	4. Chapter 3: Seventh Heaven

**So sorry for taking so long to update! **

**Thank you so much to all who reviewed/favourited/alerted! You guys really know how to warm a heart! ^^**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything besides the plot. **

**Chapter 3**

**Seventh Heaven**

Voices of laughing children drowned the either so cruel slums of Midgar in layers of thin happiness. They ran everywhere, chasing each other down. Sometimes, one of them would shout "Tag, you're it!" while touching another, before running in the opposite direction. Working adults glared at the children as they ran past, annoyed that their games caused such noise, angry that they sometimes got in the way. Yet, most of them smiled, remembering their own childhood's games.

Zack was just happy their loud shouting made it hard for anyone to overhear his own conversation with his companions.

"Any plans on how to reach Mideel in time, Vince?" he said, glowing eyes fixed on his two friends as the young teen walked backward. Red met blue, a hard look shining through.

"Not since a certain _someone_ got us to Midgar instead of Fort Condor," the black-haired teen didn't dear to laugh. It wasn't safe when the words came from Vincent; _that_ was something he had learned over the years.

"Let's just find a place to stay for the night," Zack turned his look toward the young blond, grinning proudly. Cloud knew exactly how to get the focus somewhere else.

The black-haired teen twisted around and led the little group deeper into Midgar's slum. His eyes travelled from one poorly build house to another, wondering how people could live in them. So small, hardly big enough for one person to sleep in. Sometimes, there would be a bigger house, usually a shop or a bar. The people behind those obviously had more money than the rest of the slum-inhabitants.

Zack was about to open his mouth and ask if any of the others had seen a nice place to crash for the night, but decided to wait as they entered a huge crowd of people at that very moment. Once they had all passed by, the teen stopped, waiting for his friends to catch up.

"Hey, Spike?" he called out, giving his best friend some seconds to answer. Glowing, blue eyes stared up at the plate above. Something was missing because of it, something important to people's lives.

"Spike?" he tried again, wondering if the younger teen hadn't heard him the first time. No reply met his ears.

"Spike!" the black-haired boy twisted around, hoping to find his two companions behind him.

The street was empty beside him; not even children running around.

"Vince!" Zack shouted, hoping the older man would somehow answer him. When no answer came, the boy started to glare in every direction he could find. Nothing. Not one trace of where they had disappeared off to.

Then, reality hit him.

If he had gotten separated from his friends, the change Vincent and Cloud were separated was. . .

A cold feeling travelled quickly up his back, causing the young teen to give one last wild look around, before he pulled into a run.

*~^:^~*

What had started out as a rather calm and nice day quickly turned into hell once the evening began to arrive. Tifa sighed. At least she had gotten Marlene to bed before the real hard-drinkers showed up. No six-year-old should see that drunk people.

It was a good thing the bar was located in the Slums; here the guards hardly ever checked a person's age. Of course, she didn't severe alcohol to minors; however, she herself wasn't legally old enough to sell it, even to adults.

"'nother beer, Miss!" a man called out, waving his hand to make sure she understood where he sat. Tifa casted a glare over to his table, not too surprised to see four bottles laying all over it. _He_ was one of the reasons she liked to keep Marlene away from the main-part of the bar.

The young teenage-girl turned around to find yet another beer to the man, but the sound of something heavy hitting the wall made her stop. She turned her head, wondering if someone had already begun a battle. The clock wasn't even ten yet, they could at least hold on 'till then.

However, the sight meeting her eyes was unexpected.

The door stood open, obviously being the reason for the sound, while what appeared to be a small hurricane quickly made its way toward the disk.

"Hey, Miss?" a voice called out from inside, leaving Tifa with a rather confused look. Once it finally came close enough, she was able to see through all the twisting and turning, surprised that it in fact was a human. A teenage-boy.

"Have you seen a blond guy? Really spiky hair you absolutely don't forget, weird eyes and about this tall?" he held out a hand right above her own head, his eyes staring hopefully at her. Glowing blue eyes. Where had she seen them before?

First then did she realize that he had stopped twisting around all the time, most likely calmed down to ask her his questions. A blond guy with spiky hair. Like his own? His brother, maybe. That would explain very well why he looked around so wildly.

Her eyes travelled over the boy, quickly noticing black, spiky hair and what appeared to be a small sword on his back. Dust covered most of his clothes, sand dust. That would explain the weapon, not that those were unusual these days.

"No, I haven't," she said honestly. The boy ruffled the back of his hair, a shade of worry appearing in his eyes.

"Oh well, thanks anyway," the hurricane returned once more, dragging the boy along into the world outside. Tifa stared after him, unsure what to believe. Owning a bar really gave you a surprise once in a while.

"Hey, kid! My beer!" the drunken man called out once more, angry and annoyed.

*~^:^~*

Loud voices hardly able to speak made it almost impossible to hear the newer customers as they ordered their drinks, and Tifa was close to yell from the top of her lungs at them to get the hell out if they were going to start the second fight that day. The first broke several glasses and tables before she somehow managed to break it up. Glasses and tables _she_ had to buy a replacement for.

Her eyes travelled to the clock on the opposite wall, watching as the smallest hand moved. Still an hour before they were to return. An hour in which she had to throw people out herself.

The door went open, and Tifa put on her best salesmile to greet the newcomer.

However, it was not a customer who arrived, or, he couldn't be a customer unless he was really short and young for his age. The boy didn't look like he could be much older than her, with spiky blond hair defying everything they knew about gravitation. A large sword rested on his back, almost as high as its owner.

The young teen casted a quick look around the room, his stare moving from table to table. Had she not been watching him, she wouldn't have seen the small sigh of disappointment he let out before calmly walking over to the disk. Whatever he had been looking for in the crowd obviously wasn't there.

"May I help you?" she asked once he got close enough. _Though I will not give you anything if you can't prove you're old enough to drink it._

"A glass of water, please." The young teenage-girl picked up a bottle of clean water which she had bought while on the upper plate, handing it over to the boy along with a newly polished glass. Everyone knew how dangerous it could be to drink the water coming from the sinks in these areas.

"That's five gil."

The blond paid up without hesitation.

"Welcome to Seventh Heaven!" the black-haired girl gave him a friendly smile, her heart filled with small happiness as she saw the edges of the blond's lips slightly turn upward in a tiny smile.

Luckily he hadn't ordered something she couldn't give him.

Somehow, he made her think of her real home, the place she had lived with her family, the place she had left behind.

Then, her eyes met his, and she was taken back for a few seconds.

Glowing blue eyes. Where had she seen them, or at least similar ones, earlier? Spiky, blond hair. . . _Spiky hair you absolutely don't forget_. The sentence triggered something inside her memories, yet all the customers who had passed by today made it hard to remember who had uttered those words.

"Tifa!" the young girl turned her head toward the source of her name, surprised to see that someone had arrived through the door without her noticing it.

A brunette dressed in a pink outfit stood in the doorway, heavy breathing explaining better than words just how she had gotten there. Soft, green eyes peeked out from beneath two brown bangs, the rest of her hair held away from her face with the help from a pink ribbon, letting it fall in a braid down her back. However, it wasn't the older girl in front who caught Tifa's attention; it was the boy behind her. The same boy who had banged her door open earlier that day. How had asked her about a spiky-haired guy.

The piece about why the blond's eyes seemed so familiar finally fell into the right place.

*~^:^~*

**A/N: Hope you liked it and that it was worth those minutes of your life.^^ **


	5. Chapter 4: Flower Girl

**Once again, it is time for an update. First of all, I would like to say thanks to all of you who review/alert/favourite, you guys makes me want to write more of this!**

**I am so sorry for the delay! I meant to update on Friday, but schoolwork and my birthday-party (unimportant; it isn't before tomorrow though) kind of got in the way. . . **

**This chapter would take a look on what happened to Zack during his search in the last chapter and how he ended up meeting Aerith. **

**And to all of you who review; would you like me to reply? And if you want me to; in private or in the chapters? I love to reply, but because I'm not sure wherever others prefer not to get a reply for their reviews, I don't usually do so. . . **

**Anyway:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything besides the plot. And so sorry if the characters are OOC. **

**Chapter 4**

**Flower Girl**

After closing the bardoor behind him, Zack once again found himself all alone on the streets of Midgar's living hell. This was the tenth place he had checked without any luck in finding his friends. Where could they have gone? The Slums of Midgar wasn't _so_ big – sure, it _was_ one of the biggest cities in the world, yet it didn't appear that huge from below –, and there was no way they had been able to go that far.

Eyes travelled to the plate above, his heart not able to get rid of the feeling that he was missing something important. Then, he started his search again, staring everywhere after a trace of red or blond.

The little children were back, running alongside him as they tried to track down their friends. What was the point in their little game anyway, besides being in the way for adults? They really didn't help him much either. Not unless Cloud or Vincent played with them, something he could hardly picture their oldest friend to do.

"Do you want a flower, Mister? Only one gil," it took a whole minute before Zack even understood that someone spoke to him. _Mister? That was new. _He turned a glowing look toward his right, and was surprised to find out that if he lowered his head a few inches, he would be staring right into emerald green eyes. A young flower girl, probably only a year younger than himself. Two bangs and braids travelled down her face, the braids falling to rest on her dark pink jacket, while the rest of her long, brown hair was fasten in a braid going down her back. Sweet, small hands held a basket full of yellow flowers, tightened the grip as a wind made her pink dress move softly.

She was the most perfect girl he had ever laid his eyes on, and before he could stop himself, he had opened his mouth and spoken.

"An angel?" she blushed, her cheeks matching her jacket quite well.

"Not quite. Do you want a flower? They're only gil." Zack put his hand in his pocket, hoping that he at least had one little gil to give her. The flowers were pretty, and coming from a girl like this, he would love to buy one. Stupid compass for taking most of their travelling-fond. Luckily, defeating a few enemies on the way into the city had given them a little, and hopefully he hadn't given everything to Vincent.

There! A tiny, little gil. Enough for a single flower. Though further down, he could feel at least three more.

He handed it over, gratefully accepting the beautiful flower he received in return.

"This is beautiful! You don't see flowers around often anymore," he complimented, grinning. For once, the worry about his dear friends put aside for this piece of the world.

The flower girl blushed even more, fairly touched by his kind words. Apparently, she didn't hear those too often.

"I'm Zack," he said, holding out his hand for her to take. She gave him a friendly smile before taking what was given her.

"Aerith," she answered. The black-haired boy grinned widely, letting go of her hand.

"Where do you grow such beauty? And how come you are selling them down here when you would have sold twice the among on the upper plate?" a friendly question asked between people who knew each other. The purpose of names. Aerith thought it over for a few seconds, wondering how to answer.

"The flowers grow in a church close to here," she said, her voice filled with weak pride. Obviously, she watched out for them herself. He didn't tell her, though, just let his smile say that he understood more than any words could explain.

To the second question, he never got an answer.

Silence ruled over them both, trapping them in a world where nothing else lived.

Zack could have sworn he saw something red disappear into the streets' darkness out of the corner of his eye, but for some reason it didn't matter. Aerith did.

"How about a date?" the black-haired teen grew tired of the silence and asked the first question he could think of. The brown-haired teen tipped her head to the side, emerald staring into glowing blue.

"Let's go to the market! I guess there's a lot of interesting things a girl like you would like to see there!" he grinned and grabbed a hold on her hand, dragging the young girl after him toward a distant market he had seen on his forgotten search.

*~^:^~*

"Do you not have anything else in that braid of yours? To shine it up a little, I mean." The two teens had walked alongside in the Slums' only market for hours, watching shop after shop.

"No."

Zack stopped, staring at one of the shops in front of them. A wagon filled with all sorts of ribbons, from the darkest colour you could find to the most cheering ones. Long and short, for hair and for dresses.

"Wait here a second!" he told the brunette, before running off in the direction of the wagon.

"Two gil for one, boy," the owner said, eyeing the flower girl behind him. The motive quite obvious. The boy fished up enough, handing it over as he picked up a ribbon.

"This one," he said, grinning. The owner gave him a sign that he had understood, and Zack walked back to his date.

"I bought you a gift," he said, turning her around. Before she knew what he was doing, the black-haired youth had tied a pink ribbon on top of her braid, matching her clothes perfectly.

"There, all finished," he said, turning the girl back to him. However, there he expected a smile and a thank you, he got a frightened look and a muttered word;

"Turks." The boy's eyes widen. Turks, Shin-ra's lapdogs. If they saw him, he would be as good as dead. For twelve years they had managed to escape from their hands.

He looked above the girl's shoulder, and sure enough, there they were. Those suits wasn't for mistakes.

"Do you know anywhere safe?" he whispered to the girl, once more his thoughts returned to his missing friends. Hopefully they knew to stay out of their reach.

At first, Aerith eyed him with suspicion, wondering why he would want to stay away from them, before the situation seem to fit with her own plan.

"Come with me," she answered, dragging him after her out on the main street again. They ran, made their way through playing children, down the road he had gone up looking for Cloud and Vincent.

Finally, she stopped, outside of a bar frightening familiar. He had been there before, searching.

Aerith opened the door, waving for him to follow as she rushed inside, yelling an unknown name. However, Zack's eyes were filled with something else. Not the black-haired barmaid who came to meet them, but the spiky-headed blond behind her.

***~^:^~***

**A/N: Hope you liked it and that you didn't waste does minutes of your life^^ So sorry if the characters are very OOC. **


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